president obama and mitt romney will be campaigning in virginia today as romney looks to repair the damage from that 47% comment that was recorded at a fundraiser. peter alexander is with the romney camp in springfield this morning. peter, good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, good morning to you. when it comes to the battlegrounds, there are three, florida, ohio, and virginia, both mitt romney and the president held dueling events in ohio on wednesday. today, they are both here in virginia. another state where romney is trailing in the polls. >> reporter: campaigning in ohio wednesday, both president obama and mitt romney were keenly aware of the buckeye state's place in history. no republican has won the white house without it. romney went out of his way to show his compassionate side greeting world war ii veterans and courting working class families. >> these are tough times even for families with jobs. i know what it takes to get this economy going again. i care about the people of america. >> reporter: it's a delivered effort, analysts say, with a tv ad designed to show empathy